CM okays $1.6bn project to overhaul KWSB, provide additional 195mgd to city

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has given the nod to launch a $1.6 billion Karachi Water & Sewerage Improvement Programme (KWSSIP) to make the water board operationally, financially and institutionally viable.

He took this decision while presiding over a meeting to launch the well-conceived water board’s improvement programme at the CM House on Monday. The meeting was attended by Minister for Local Government Syed Nasir Shah, Chairperson P&D Nahid Shah, PSCM Sajid Jamal Abro, Secretary Finance Hassan Naqvi, Chief P&D Naeem Zafar, DG KWSB Asadullah Khan, PD KWSSIP Ayoub Shaikh and other officers concerned.

The chief minister said that the World Bank- and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank- sponsored KWSSIP was being launched to raise the KWSB’s operational capacity to deliver to all of its customers a safe and reliable water service on a sustainable and predictable basis. Through the project an environment would be established for private sector investments in water supply and waste water treatment.

The KWSSIP is a $1.6 billion project in which the World Bank’s share is 40 percent and 40 percent of the funds will be provided by the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. The provincial government will pay 20 percent of the money.

There are four components of four phases of the project. The component one is about reforms, second of securing sustainable water supply and sanitation and third component is about project management and studies.

The chief minister directed the minister for local government to sign the Commitment of Cooperation within the next few days so that the project could be started. He approved the steering committee to monitor implementation of the project.

The reform in the KWSB includes overhauling HR policy and service rules, improve the communication strategy, capacity-building, the budget, financial management, improvement in revenue collection and improving customers relations.

Phase-II

The cost of Phase-II is $685, said the chief minister and added it had 12 components. They are a 100mgd Bulk Water supply scheme from Haleji to Pipri,an additional 50mgd water supply through the existing bulk system from Keenjhar Lake to Pipri, the remodeling of the Haliji Conduit for the supply of 30mgd additional water to Karachi, abstraction of 15mgd additional water from the Dumlottee well, rehabilitation of all the 10 wastewater pumping stations, improvement of the water supply and sewerage in low-income communities (katchi abadees), priority sewer network rehabilitation and extension, priority water network rehabilitation, including the installation of meters, reducing energy consumption, augmentation and extensions of workshop and offices, rehabilitation of existing and construction of new filtration plants.

The chief minister said that in the second phase, around 195mgd additional water would be made available for the city. He said that he would try to start additional water supply schemes much before time so that maximum water could be made available for the city.